AJ McLean and his wife Rochelle reportedly decided to temporarily split because of "trust issues."
Rochelle McLean decided to initiate the split between herself and AJ McLean, says an insider
The Backstreet Boys star, 45, tied the knot with Rochelle in 2011 and has Ava, nine as well as six-year-old Lyric with her but the pair decided to have a "temporary" separation towards the end of March and now a source has alleged that friends of the couple do not think they will reconcile.
The source told PEOPLE: "She initiated the split. There were some trust issues. Close friends don't see them getting back together, though AJ really thinks they will."
The comments come just weeks after the 'I Want It That Way' hitmaker and his wife explained that even though their marriage had been "worth it", they had both come to the decision that a trial separation should take place, noting that their ultimate goal was to "come back stronger" than ever before as they raise their family.
In a statement given to TMZ, they explained: "Marriage is hard, but worth it. We have mutually decided to separate temporarily to work on ourselves, and on our marriage with the hope of building a stronger future. The plan is to come back together and continue to nurture our love for one another and our family. We ask for respect and privacy at this
time."
AJ and Rochelle tied the knot in 2011, and in 2019, the pop star announced that he was "stepping away from social media" to focus on his family.
He said: "I'm sure you guys are all wondering what in the world is going on with A.J.'s Instagram. Well, I'm here to let you know it's a new year. I'm doing a reboot of my Instagram account. Social media has become a little too over consuming for me and I want to focus more on my family, my friends and life in general and not let social media control me and my time - my valuable time with my kids especially."
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